


WHAT NOW?!

by Toastyquinn



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Ashen Romance | Auspistice (mentioned), Caliginous Romance | Kismesis (mentioned), Eric sat his sweet ass down on his fluffed pillows, Fluff, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, I promise you, Just stuff, M/M, My First AO3 Post, My own secret Idaho, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Post Sburb/Sgrub, Red Romance, Romance in general, Sadstuck, i'm done, just a little, mentions of stuff, oh yeah, ok, omg taaaaaaaags, peace out, seriously, then a lot of kissing, there be romancing and cheese all ova dis b, there is a plot here somewhere, what else should I put here?, what were you expecting?, you just need a magnifying glass to find it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-23
Updated: 2014-04-19
Packaged: 2018-01-13 13:52:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1228849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toastyquinn/pseuds/Toastyquinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The game has been beaten. Lord English has been slain. Many have died because of Sburb. But life goes on. A new universe has been created for all the players, everywhere. Even some who never played live there. But this isn't about them.</p><p>     John Egbert and Karkat Vantas live together there, as well. John goes to University. Karkat works as a mechanic. </p><p>     Only one question remains: What now?</p><p>(This was my first fic please don't read it.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ==>Karkat: Get us up to speed?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. This is my first ever story, so I really hope you like it! Here it goes... I guess...
> 
> (Note to those who have already read this: I might edit this more to my liking so don't get mad at me in the comments for changing it unless you have the exact positioning and exact words that I used before, please. I might change it back if you have those things, unless what I changed was a spelling/grammatical error.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this is my first ever post on Ao3...
> 
> I hope you like it!

John. 

John is fucking amazing. 

I have known the dork for at least ten years, and I still have a crush on him. The only difference is that at first, I was black for him. At first, I really did want him to be my kismesis.

The rejection was crushing. 

Now, I am definitely, absolutely, positively, extremely, horns-over-heels, flushed for him. I feel more red for the fuckass than my blood colour, for crying out loud! I've been crushing on John since before I met him. Damn those ocean eyes. 

Sometimes I want him so bad, it fucking HURTS! John would definitely be matesprit material. Only problem is that he could never see me that way. I'd learned from Dave (at a very young age, I might add) what exactly "not a homosexual" meant. Stupid fucking John. Stupid fucking gorgeous blue eyes.

Speaking of John and quadrants, the idiot was my only quadrant right now. It's been that way ever since the game ended. We've been moirails for four years. Not exactly the quadrant I'd had in mind for us. Not exactly my favourite quadrant, either, thanks to my last moirail.

Fuck. I can't think about that right now. I can't think about the game, or anyone I used to know, or I'll start. 

Great. 

Now I'm fucking crying.

John looks over at me. 

We WERE washing the dishes. Me soaping and rinsing them. John drying. 

He puts his dish towel down on the counter. He takes the plate that I am currently holding onto for dear life and sets it down in the sink. I just continue to cry softly. 

John takes my hand. I love it when he does that. He leads me away from the sink and the kitchen altogether. I don't really pay attention as to where he is taking me, and instead focus on his hand in mine. He's always so warm. How the hell does he do that?! 

I only come back to reality when his hand leaves mine. I've still got tears in my eyes, but I now see that he led me through our apartment, to my room, where our last pile still remained. He sat down, gingerly opening his arms a little in a silent askance. I'd never rejected a feelings jam with John, and I wasn't about to start now.

I jumped into his arms in a way that mirrored many human romance movies. Quickly moved into his lap. John clutched me close to him as I sobbed into his chest, rubbing circles in my back with one hand, and stroking my head with the other. After a while, I started to calm down. Then he was holding me, papping my face a little, so I just buried my face in his neck and breathed him in. I wanted to kiss his neck so bad right then! I didn't, of course, (even though I might be able to con him into believing that moirails do that kind of stuff) but the thought of it was tempting and tantalizing and I couldn't help thinking about it! He just smelled so good, and I bet he probably tasted good too, if not better!

I admit that its wrong and pretty selfish to abuse my moirallegiance with John by sating my hunger for (crush on) him like this, but he never even has to know, right? Even so, I'm a little ashamed to admit that I've pretty much been doing it from the start, and that that was sorta the deal breaker with me when John and I were first discussing moirallegiance.

We started to talk a bit after that.

I trust John with my life. Tell him everything. He knows everything about me. My past. My habits. My favourite things. My secrets (well, except ONE). I know the same things about him. We talked mostly about nothing. He asked how I was, what I did today, and stuff like that. I asked him the same things. John's life is so much more interesting than mine. 

Then, we started talking about the big things.

I told John why I had been crying. He knew, of course, but he didn't stop me because he also knew that I needed to vent. After all, what happened was traumatizing. Just standing by and watching as Lord English slaughtered everyone you had ever known. Knowing that there was nothing you could do to stop it. I already had to watch a vast majority of my friends get slaughtered once, but then I had to watch all of their ghosts die again. Not to mention that all of my fucking living friends were killed, too.

At least I still got to see them in dream bubbles. I almost lost John in that fight, and I don't think I could have gone on any longer if I had. John isn't able to see any of his friends, like I am, because for some stupid ass reason they're all dead but gone for good. He has to dream "real" dreams like "normal" people do.

I was definitely way too specific while reminiscing, because... wait... what?

John started to cry.

John was crying? John...was crying? JOHN was CRYING?! OH FUCK! I started to panic a little because HOLY FUCKING SHIT! JOHN WAS CRYING!!!!! John has never, ever cried in front of me. HE has always been the one comforting ME. John always has a smile on his face. I didn't even think he was capable of crying (sad crying, I mean. No need to rehash the bunny incident) until now!

I switched our positions as fast as I could, placing John in my lap and wrapping my arms around his lithe frame. I tucked his head under my chin and whispered calm, comforting words into his hair as I stroked and pet him like he'd done to me so many times.

Then I realized that John's probably had all of this bottled up for a long time. 

I also realized that I hated it when he was sad. I want him to never feel sad again. It made me feel so awful, like I've been neglecting him all these years. So I did what any good moirail would do. I just held him and let him cry. 

Eventually, I calmed John down. We started to talk again.

"I'm really fucking sorry. I shouldn't have said anything about that.", I apologized. John is the only person I will ever swallow my pride for and just fucking apologize to. I don't mind, as long as he's happy. I'd do anything to make him happy, especially right now. 

"It's fine. Just a touchy subject, you know?", John replied. 

"Yeah.", I said back. Then, we fell into a comfortable silence, John snuggled into me, arms around each other, and him in my lap. 

John reached his hand up, in a request that we initiate the forming of our "sign". Basically the "sign" is what trolls do whilst in a quadrant (not the ashen quadrant, though, for obvious reasons) together. They put their hands together to vaguely form the shape and/or symbol of the quadrant they're in. For example, John and I always make a diamond. 

If you want to use it to flirt, though, you form your half of the symbol for the quadrant you WANT to be in with them, instead. 

This is exactly what I was going to do. 

I brought my hand up. 

We counted to three in our heads. 

I closed my eyes, and made half of the sign that haunted my every memory and dream of John.


	2. ==>Reader: Be extremely pissed off by this update.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two! Yay!
> 
> Thanks so much for comments and kudos! You guys rock!

John.

Wait, why am I even thinking about myself? I've got work to do!

Where was I...? 

Oh! I was-

The door creaked open, erasing any thoughts from my mind. I could barely contain my excitement when I saw who was there, standing in the doorframe. Karkat was home!!!!!!!! He was just kinda standing there, though.

"Major Karkles, permission to enter granted.", I giggled.

"Fuck you", he said halfheartedly.

"What's wrong?", I asked, genuinely concerned.

"All of my coworkers are giant, flaming, dickwads that shouldn't even be competent enough to utter a sentence, let alone perform such a delicate procedure as thinking. What's up with you?", Karkat deadpanned.

I got up from the table and walked over to him. I looked him in the eyes, searching them for anything out of place, any hurt, or sadness, or fear. He always tries to hide what he's feeling with anger, but if I look deep into his eyes, I can always see him, the real him. When I found nothing unsettling there, my mind started to focus more on the beauty of his eyes, and less on the emotions they conveyed. Karkat's eyes are a thing of beauty. They were striking, as always. Bright, blood-red (well, OUR blood, anyway) irises, surrounded by shining amber sclera. Karkat's eyes were like a sunset. Astounding. Beautiful. Captivating. Devote- NOPE! I'm definitely NOT going through a whole alphabet of words in my mind right now that I could use to describe his eyes. Or him... for that matter... hmmm...

...Woah! I wasn't expecting any words like... THAT.

"Nothing. Just school.", I blurted immediately, pointing back at the table.

"Sounds fucking sweet. Anyway, I'm cooking. It has been officially decided, and no force in the entire existence of everything ever will be able to stop me from making spaghetti tonight.", the troll continued, his words dripping in sarcasm. 

"Really? You're the best! It is you!", I exclaimed. Crisis averted, and he's making spaghetti! In my opinion, you have not lived until you have eaten Karkat's spaghetti. Karkat's spaghetti was the shit! So is, for that matter, anything and everything he ever cooks, even if he denies it, or says mine is better.

"I know.", he boasted.

"How modest.", I smirked, rolling my eyes. 

The coffee maker dinged and I went over to it, poured some coffee into a cup, and gave it to Karkat.

"Sweet Jegus you are awesome!", he marvelled.

"I know.", I returned as he hung up his coat.

We walked to the table and sat. He talked about his day and I listened. Karkat is so great. I could tell him everything. Well, I can't tell him... one thing. One VERY big, VERY important thing. That thing being that I wouldn't mind grabbing him and kissing him most of the time. That thing being that I thought about him a LOT. That thing being that I sometimes think about him in a... special way... by myself... all alone...

My point is, I got it bad, and Karkat can NEVER, EVER know.

We talked for a bit, then I realized that I had a lot of homework to do, so I left for my room.

I did my trigonometry work, then my chemistry, then finished up another essay. Karkat still hadn't called yet, but I didn't have any homework left.

I quietly let my mind wander, and of course it went straight to Karkat again.

I pictured him, standing there in front of me, with his black hair, grey skin, wondrous eyes, and... a smile on his face? I'd only ever seen him smile a handful of times. Every time Karkat smiled, it was like winning the lottery, seeing a thousand rainbows together, and becoming TWO godteirs all at once. Needless to say, his smiles were the best. 

My room faded away. All of a sudden, we were outside, in what appeared to be a park. It was summer in my mind, as opposed to autumn, which we were currently experiencing in reality. We walked on a gravel path, cherry blossom trees on either side of us. Our hands were clasped together, our fingers linked. We were approaching a pond, with a small bridge spanning over it. The sun was setting fast and Karkat giggled as he lead me a little faster. We stopped there, right in the middle of the bridge, as I looked over the rails. Suddenly, it was night. The moon and stars looked breathtaking, reflected by the calm of the water, and a warm breeze whistled through our hair. We were facing each other, our hands held together.

He was still smiling at me, his sharp teeth shining a pearly white, his eyes glowing in the darkness. He leaned forward, closed said eyes, and touched his lips to mine. I imagined where our hands would go, how our lips would fit, how good it would feel. I lost myself in the moment, in the passion of it. I imagined he would smell so great. I mean, I already know he smells like strawberries... coffee... chocolate... flowers... happiness... love... warmth... mmmmmmmmwhatwasItalkingaboutagain?

Oh yeah. Karkat. I wish we could be together. Sometimes it hurts to think about how we aren't together. Sometimes I wish I could just touch him and kiss all of his problems away. He hurts so much. It hurts me every time he cries.

I hear a knock on my door and my mood brightens again instantly. 

"Food's ready!", Karkat shouts.

Over the course of dinner we mostly talk and laugh and just enjoy each others' company. I try not to stare too much. He tries (and fails) not to smile at my jokes. All in all, it was a regular night. When we finish eating, there's a big argument about who does the dishes, where I volunteer to do them and then he insists that his skills in the art of dish-washing are far more superior to mine. We both end up doing them anyway, and he makes me dry them, which I really don't mind.

We continue to wash and dry the dishes, but then I hear a sniffle, and look over to Karkat. I always hate it when he cries. I put the plate he holds in the sink. Guess I can do the dishes tomorrow.

I take Karkat's hand. He doesn't reject me, just holds on tight. That should keep me sane for a little while. I gently guide him through the apartment. When we reach Karkat's room, I'm glad that he decided not to clean it, because our last pile is still there. It mainly consists of pillows, sheets, and blankets. 

I let him go and park myself in a groove in the pile. I put my arms by my side, making an offering, of sorts. Karkat doesn't leave, and instead accepts wholeheartedly. He's in my arms, I'm just holding him. He sits in my lap and I put arms around his small, familiar frame as Karkat sobs into my chest. I comfort him by rubbing his back and head. I wish I could touch him in other places, too. 

Eventually, he actually calms down.

I give Karkat a few light, conciliatory paps on his face, and tuck his head under my chin. He steadied his breathing, and then took in a deep breath. He felt so good against my body. 

I always feel bad for taking pleasure like this from an intimate non-concupicient relationship. Karkat is supposed to be able to trust me and rely on me, and here I am thinking about his... everything.

After that, we talked about the same things we had at dinner, because that kind of conversation was safer, more normal. 

Alas, we couldn't keep up the small talk forever. He told me why he was crying. I knew, of course, but things always felt better after you talked about them, right? 

Wrong.

Karkat started talking about his feelings and, normally, I'd be okay with it, but for some weird reason I couldn't handle it this time. I started to cry. It occurred to me that Karkat had never seen me cry, and therefore had never had to console me before. He was probably freaking out on the inside right now. I vaguely registered him moving our positions around. The next thing I knew I was in his lap and he was rubbing my back and neck like I did to him. I just sort of sat there and cried. 

He helped quell the emotions that were eating me alive, if only for a moment. I was relieved when we started to talk again.

"I'm really fucking sorry. I shouldn't have said anything about that.", Karkat apologized, his normally loud voice replaced with a softer tone.

"It's fine. Just a touchy subject, you know?", I sniffled. 

"Yeah.", he replied.

In the silence that followed, I shifted just a little to make myself more comfortable. I then offered my hand, in order to make our "sign".

The only thing is that I had a trick up my sleeve, a real motif and purpose for doing it this time. 

He hesitated, but obliged.

As I reached my hand up above our heads, I made a half of a heart, in a desperate (last-ditch) attempt at a romantic confession of love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, ho (not a typo) damn! Damn, ho! Friggin cliff hangers! I be bungee jumping and parachuting all ova dat b! 
> 
> Please don't hate me for my lovely mysteries! I promise the next chapter will actually be what happens next! Honest! Cross my hearts! It'll also be in Karkat's point of view (fuck the acronym!) but that doesn't mean that the point of view will change in every chapter. I like writing Karkat, so I might stick with him for a while.
> 
> Any way I hope you like it and please comment if I screwed something up or if you have any suggestions!
> 
> I need to go to bed now.


	3. ==>Story: Suddenly stop sucking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! If you're still reading this, you are officially awesome!
> 
> This is where the story gets good. We don't need those losers who already got bored anyway.
> 
> Aaaaaaaand I'm rambling to myself again.
> 
> Kaythanksbye...

I felt my hand brush John's. I opened my eyes.

Of course. Just my fucking luck! My hand couldn't have had some weird spasm to make itself look like half of a diamond. I guess there's no turning back now.

My gaze shifted ever-so-slightly towards his hand and...

What in the ever-loving FUCK is going on! I'm definitely dreaming! Soon this is all going to bleed away into some horrible nightmare, and then I'll wake up to John shaking my shoulders. This is totally a dream! Right? I don't even remember falling asleep! This... is actually happening!? Oh my Gog!

John's hand was also making half of a heart.

I cast my eyes downwards until they met his. John's mouth was hanging open. My jaw hit the floor, too.

We gaped at each other for a moment, then I spoke up. "What...?", I managed, eyes shifting back and forth between his face and our hands.

He smiled.

"John. Before you fucking say anything, I need to make sure this isn't a prank. If you're playing some sick joke on me, just stop. You broke my heart before, and I don't think I could handle it if you did it again. So tell me, are you really, honestly, truly, 100% sure that you're flushed for me? If you aren't, then put your god damn hand back down.", I said. My voice shook.

He put his god damn hand back down. Fuck! Why does past-me fuck everything up! I let my hand fall too. I was about to cry. John looked away. When he looked back, he had a smirk on his face.

"John! What the fuck is so funny!", I yelled.

And that's when John kissed me.

Oh. Oh wow!

Oh my fucking Gog!

I was purring instantly. The kiss was more than I ever dreamed it would be! It made my heart beat fast and loud, my stomach do backflips, my skin tingle, and the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. It felt like electricity. His lips were so soft, so warm, so inviting. It was intoxicating. I wanted to get lost in him. I wanted more. At some point, John's hands went to my face, holding me there. I don't think I would ever find the will-power to stop, let alone move away from him. I did, however, move closer to him, though I don't know how. I slipped my fingers under the waist of his jeans, just a little. He whimpered, and broke the kiss.

"Um... Karkat...?", John said.

"Mmm?", I asked. I trailed kisses down his face, to his neck. He tasted better than he smelled. I nibbled just a tiny bit, then sucked harder. I was never going to stop.

"Er... (*gasp*)... I uh... (oh god)... I'm not really... (mmm)... uh, comfortable wi- oh Karkat!", he moaned as I licked and sucked at the underside of his jaw. Hmm. Remember that spot. "Karkat, wait. Can we -- (*gasp*) -- can we talk about 'us', first?"

I stopped immediately.

"John, I'm flushed for you. It's not even funny. There, happy?!", I asked, hysterically.

"Yes, actually, I am. I've... kinda had a crush on you for..."

"How long?"

"Um... around when you told me about your black feelings for me. It got me thinking. It was kinda weird at first, because, well, I didn't know what you looked like!", a shrug. "I guess it didn't really matter all that much, though. My feelings definitely haven't changed."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did!"

"I'm serious."

"Okay, shoot."

I gathered all of my courage, and asked him something I never thought I would.

"John, will you be my matesprit?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I didn't want this chapter to be too much longer, and there was an opportunity for a huge cliff hanger, so hell yeah Imma do that shit!
> 
> Once again kudos and comments are always welcome, and thank you so much for reading this!


	4. ==>John: answer the fucking question!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Chapter four.  
> *spoiler* shit goes down. Like drama. Lots and lots of drama.  
> Enjoy...?

John hesitated. 

I waited expectantly, hoping -- no -- praying that he would say yes. That he would finally be mine. I loved him. I wanted him. I needed him. I started to think more about what it would be like if we were together. I would get to kiss him awake every morning, and his fingers would slide in my hair. I'd be able to kiss him whenever I wanted, come to think of it. I could definitely picture us curled up on the couch together watching a movie, when all of a sudden, we just start making out. It would be awesome. Our matespritship would be glorious, and no other couple would ever come close to matching it.

That's when he answered.

"No..."

The silence hung thick in the air as I realized what just happened. My heart sank. No, that's an understatement. It felt like John had taken his fucking warhammer of zillyhoo and proceeded to smash open my heart until the blood spilled everywhere like candy from one of those earth-human-piñatas. Why was John teasing me like this? First, he makes a heart with his hand. He puts it down, rejecting me. Next, he kisses me. I guess I can respect that John pushed me away when I tried to put my hand down his pants. Then, he wants to talk about "us", and tells me he's had a crush on me almost as long I've had one on him. Now this? What the actual FUCK John!?

Little do I know, there's more to his first statement than meets the eye. He continues, " ...at least, not yet. I really do want to be your matesprit... it's just that-"

"John please don't go on about how you 'really want to be with me', and that you're 'totally into me'. I've heard it all before. Don't be the 'it's not you, it's me' guy. I get it. You don't like me that way. That's ok. I understand now.", I muttered.

"Understand what? What are you talking about?", he looked confused and... hurt? Why?

"I know that this was just some scheme to fill your Prankster's Gambit. It's ok, I just didn't realize it at first. Anyway, you can stop, you've had your laugh, it's not funny anymore. Cut it out. We can just pretend this never happened. I never had a crush on you. We're just moirails, that's it. You obviously never actually felt that way... (*sniff*)... Why would you?", I began to cry by the end.

He wrapped his arms tighter around me, nuzzling my neck. He quickly said, "No... Karkat, it's not like that. I love you. I love you so much. I don't just pale-love you though. I am really, honestly, truly flushed for you. I have been for ten years. All that time, I've been thinking about you, all of you. Your lips, your hair, your eyes, and... other things I haven't seen yet. I want to kiss you and touch you and just be around you, but I'm scared. I've never really been in a serious relationship before, and I want to be in one with you, it's just that I've never dated a guy before or had these kinds of feelings be acknowledged.", John confessed.

I was almost at a loss for words... almost... I managed to get out, "Y-you l-l-lov-ve m-me? Hon-nest?"

"Of course I do! How could I not! It's not that h-"

I cut him off with my lips. I put so much emotion behind that kiss. With each feeling, there were memories. Every time John had hugged me and comforted me. All the pain I'd ever felt, physically and emotionally. All the rejection. Every time I'd thought about John and I. Every day back on Alternia, fearing for my life and because of my blood colour. Every time I looked at myself, talked to my other selves. All the love I felt for John, everyday. Everything I'd ever felt was there, the good and the bad. 

So much passion was there, too. The kiss itself was stupefying. A rush of pure passion and pleasure, and he started to kiss back immediately after I'd initiated it. It was astonishing, but I needed more of him. I slid my tongue along his bottom lip, silently asking for its entrance into his mouth. Sadly, he broke the kiss and polluted away... AGAIN.

"What did I do wrong?", I asked, the worry clear in my voice.

"Nothing! Nothing! I'm fine. I just... I want to take this slow. We don't need to rush, right? It's ok, you didn't do anything wrong, I just wasn't expecting that. I'll be ok next time, though.", John explained.

"No offence, but why must you insist that we take things slow? I thought you wanted this.", I complained.

"I do! I really do. I don't see why we should rush our relationship, though. If it's meant to be, we should know after a few dates. Then, when we think the time is right, we can talk about matespritship.", he promised.

"Ok, but since we're sorta dating now, and we live together, you should probably tell me what's in your comfort zone. I don't want to do something or touch you somewhere that'll make you uncomfortable."

"Um... ok. I... uh... really like it when you kiss me, and I kinda would like to try it with tongues, so that's a yes. I'm ok if you want to touch me, but I don't want you to touch...", he blushed, "...down there. Also, I don't want to... do 'things' with you yet. Well, actually I'd be lying if I said I didn't, because I kind of do, but it's a little nerve-wracking to be honest and I don't think I'm ready yet." 

"Anything else?"

"I'll let you know if I think of anything else. Why?"

I couldn't respond, my lips were on his in an instant. Kissing John is definitely my new favourite pastime. This kiss was better than the last one, but only so because the moment it started, John's tongue pushed into my mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kay so kissing... yup. Also, I told you about the drama bro! I told you dog!
> 
> Hope you liked the chapter! Also if you ship Johnkat, or if it's one of your OTPs (like me), my friend Butterynicole is working on a fic, too. It entails lots of stuff and things, and also involves lots of happenings and occurrences. Also I'm pretty sure she wants me to edit for her, and I want to, so I guess it works out!?
> 
> I guess I'll see you next time!
> 
> (When I was editing, I noticed that at one point in the story, I wrote that John "polluted away". What I meant to say was that he "PUSHED away". I was going to delete that mistake, but for some reason, I completely lost my shit reading it! So, for comedy, and irony sake, that mistake will remain. I hope the reader finds this as funny as I did, and if not, that's ok, too!)


	5. ==>Karkat: wake up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just gonna be a filler. I'm not sure if it's gonna be relevant to the story, but we'll see...

Ugh...

...What time is it?!

I look to the nightstand on my left. I grab my phone, my grogginess preventing me from doing anything as I immediately drop it on the floor. Taking my head out from under my pillow, I crack open an eye, and check the clock on my phone.

It's 4:13 am. WHAT THE FUCK!

I drop my phone on the floor again and return my head from whence it came. I know I'm not going to be able to get back to sleep, but the thought of it makes me feel a little better. However, the dilution doesn't go on for much longer, and I reluctantly peel away my sheets. 

As I roll off my bed, I fall on the floor, which gives me a chance to grab my phone and put it back where it belongs. I stand up too fast and suddenly my daily headache becomes apparent. Fucking awesome.

I drag myself upwards, but fall on my face because my foot catches on a sheet. I decide not to get dressed today. Why should I? It's Saturday. I stumble to the kitchen, finding purchase on the walls, and turn on the coffee maker, then flop down in a chair at the kitchen table. Before I know it, the coffee's done, and I drink the black liquid in one gulp, too tired to care about the temperature.

As I sat there, I thought fondly about last night, and I am definitely NOT smiling right now.

John and I made out on the pile for a while, then we started to make young-barkbeast-eyes at each other. After a while, we just sorta snuggled, then John got tired and I walked him to his room. He kissed me goodnight.

I touched my cheek on said spot.

I hoped that kiss burned into my skin and stayed there forever, a constant reminder of the boy I love. I don't pity John, like most trolls would pity their (flushed crush) potential matesprit. How could I? Pitying him would mean that I felt bad for him, and that's not how I feel at all. He's strong (and not just physically), he's smart, he's not a hipster or a douchebag, and he cares about everyone, whether he knows them or not. That's someone you should look up to, not feel bad for. 

Suddenly, I heard a noise, shaking me from my thoughts. What the hell was that? It sounded like something fell. I got up from my chair and looked around. At least we weren't getting robbed. I wondered what that noise could have been. Then it hit me.

It was John.

I hurried down the hallway, and turned right. I knocked on John's door. No answer. I waited, then entered.

I saw him at once. He was on the floor, in a puddle of blankets and sheets from his bed. He was still sleeping, but he was tossing and turning, and mumbling things to himself. A nightmare. John has nightmares every time he sleeps, and rarely has any good dreams at all. His nightmares mainly consist of the Battle, as do mine. I needed to wake him up.

John's mumbling got louder, until it was just audible. He said, "No...stop... Don't go... He's gonna... Wait...!". More mumbling followed that, then his voice rose. "Karkat!? KARKAT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? STOP! DON'T LEAVE ME!", John sobbed.

Fuck! He's dreaming about the Battle again, only this time another variation of myself has gone and fucked something up... as always... I should wake him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is short and kinda pointless, but I've got a lot planned for this story, I promise. Next chapter, you'll get to find out more about the Battle...
> 
> See you next time on:  
> Poke -- I mean, uh -- WHAT NOW?!


	6. ==>John: WAKE UP!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go! The moments just before the Battle.

As much as I would like to wake up, I can't!

I hate this dream, but I was out before my head hit the pillow, and now I'm paying the price for wanting to sleep at all.

Darkness.

Everything is darkness. 

Then the dark fades away, and I'm standing there, where it all started. The Land of Wind and Shade.

I always remember my first day on LOWAS fondly, even if it was over ten year ago. I knew so little then, but I still remember so much. I put my Warhammer of Zillyhoo back into my strife specibus, where it belongs, and go about my business. I want to prolong my time here before He arrives and everything is gone. I walk along the dark, stone pathways, and marvel at all the wonderful things the environment contains. The oil streams and rivers, the little glowing turquoise mushrooms, the Parcel Pyxis that use the Breeze to deliver the mail. I still remember how the Windy Thing first felt.

There is a group of yellow salamanders conversing nearby.

"... behold my robes, for I am-"

"We dun knows it already. You're the 'secret wizard'. We gets it. Now ya'll go away. I gots some goddamn farmin' t'do. Fuckin' pain in the ass. But someone's gotta be farmin' those goddamn fuckin' mushrooms.", said the Farmer.

"I would help you, but I have more trends to come up with. This'll show my ancestors! I'm gonna blow the rumpled headgear fad right out of the oil with this next one!", Crumplehat exclaimed excitedly.

"Glub.", the Farmer glubbed unhappily, returning to his mushrooms.

This place sure hasn't changed! I passed the dispersing salamanders, and waving to the Farmer, who in turn grumbled something else about "those fuckin' mushrooms" to himself. This was fun, but I know it won't last for much longer.

As I walked through the streets of the consorts' humble village, I reminisced about the silly little adventures I'd had with its citizens and shopkeepers. I looked at one stall, seeing a vast array of what looked like bugs to the untrained human or troll eye, but were actually expensive delicacies (at least to the salamanders). I passed a salesman on the street, selling rumpled hats. I guess they were still in fashion.

Suddenly, the skies got dark (well, darker) and the clouds and the fireflies swirled protectively, not wanting to let the evil on the outside in. They would be no match for His sarcophagus.

I let the Breeze carry me to my doom, as the colours of all of His destruction raged in the sky. It wouldn't be long, now.

I looked down as I flew across the land, and I saw someone.

They were moving fast. No doubt they knew the end was nigh. They were quick, and looked extremely deadly. Also, angry. I swerved to a stop in the air. 

The troll looked to be about nineteen (almost nine sweeps). His hair was black, and extremely unkempt, though I couldn't complain. He wore a black sweater and grey pants, both garments too big for him, thought they didn't slow his pace in the slightest. He looked particularly pissed off today, running at top speed, arms held back and head forward. He held his horns in front, much like a bull would, with his sickles at the ready.

As Karkat raced on, I followed him in the air, not close enough for him to notice, just enough to watch him. I debated my next course of action, and knew exactly what to do. This way, one of two things could happen: either my Prankster's Gambit will fill up, and this'll be hilarious, or I'll at least get the chance to do what I had always wanted to do in those moments before the Battle.

I zoomed up behind him as he ran, and whispered in his ear.

"Kaaaaaaaarkaaaaaaaat...", I crooned, my voice breathy and soft, like the wind.

He stopped, and spun around, giving me just enough time to zip behind him. He turned his head back and forth, his eyes searching. There's nothing there, Karkles. I could picture him rolling his eyes, thinking it's just his imagination. He sighed, turning back, only to gasp when he saw me right behind him.

"Heeeeeeeey, beep beep meow.", I said casually, spinning in the air, then floating to the ground to stand in front of him.

"EGBERT! YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME! HAVE YOU GONE FUCKING SHITHIVE MAGGOTS!? YOU ASSHOLE, DO YOU NOT REALIZE HOW CLOSE YOU CAME TO GETTING CULLED JUST NOW!? LET ME SAVE YOU THE FUCKING HASSLE OF ANSWERING WHILE YOU CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT YOU'RE STILL FUCKING ALIVE! THE ANSWER IS FUCKING SECONDS, BECAUSE YOU, JOHN HUMAN, WERE A FEW MEASLY FUCKING SECONDS AWAY FROM ME GUTTING YOU LIKE A SWIMBEAST AND LEAVING THE SHREDS OF YOUR CORPSE HERE TO ROT FOR ETERNITY!", Karkat ranted, punching me lightly in the shoulder. I forgot how loud his voice used to be.

"C'mon Karkles,", I purred, refusing to use his real name, "you know you wouldn't even dream of hurting me. I am your best friend, after all"

"YOU KNOW YOU CAN STOP FUCKING USING ANNOYING AS SHIT PET NAMES AT ANY POINT IN TIME! THAT IS A THING THAT YOU CAN FUCKING DO! AND FURTHERMORE, I-"

He stopped when I put my hand on his cheek, then kept going, intent on chastising me.

"JOHN! WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR HAND DOING ON MY FACE!?", Karkat yelled.

I said nothing, just moved my face closer to his.

"JOHN... WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?", his voice remained loud and angry, but now it sounded more like question.

I slowly pushed my lips forward, until they brushed against Karkat's. It was a very quick, very chaste kiss, and lasted only about a second. As I pulled away, though, Karkat's hands went to my chest, grabbing fistfuls of my shirt and pulling me back to his face. My hands went to his hips. This kiss was longer, and may or may not have involved our tongues.

When he released me, he was flushed and out of breath. He was also completely speechless, for once.

"I love you", I said simply, flashing him a huge, genuine smile.

Karkat's eyes went wide and a hopeful smile crept to his face, too. There was no way he could hide it.

Still breathless, he didn't manage to get out a whole lot. "I... Really?", he squeaked, his voice turned quiet.

"Really.", I said, then kissed him again. This kiss lasted for about five minutes, before Karkat piped up again.

"John... I'm... I'm scared,"

"I know. It's ok, though. I'll protect you. I promise."

He wrapped his arms around me and I held him close. Karkat nuzzled into my neck lovingly, and I pet his hair. How does someone even get that cute?

I almost let the calm of this moment take me, wanting to just get lost in it and have no more worries, just Karkat. Then I remembered who we were, why we were here, and pushed away from him. He looked up at me questioningly, then his expression turned panicked as the reality of what, who, was coming hit him.

"John, I don't want to die. I don't want you to die."

Before I could respond, there came a horrid cracking noise, followed by a devilish honk from the sky, and I broke away from Karkat, giving him one last kiss. He took my hand in his, holding it to his chest, and I moved closer to him. I touched Karkat's face, wiping away a red tear, and he looked me in the eyes.

at that moment, I remembered the fact that his eyes had come into colour a little later than the other trolls, at eight sweeps, but they looked all the more beautiful for it. I also remember after that, when the dead trolls came back, and Eridan was the first one to hit on Karkat.

"Please don't go."

"We have to. Don't worry. Everything will be fine. We'll be ok. Trust me, I will protect you."

With that Karkat let me go. I papped him on the face. I got the desired reaction -- confusion -- from such a pale gesture, and then kissed him hard on the lips. Before he had time to say or do anything, I flew up and away as fast as I could, Karkat watching me the whole time, shocked and bewildered. Hehehe, yes! The clouds were breaking, the shining colourful light almost blinding me as the Breeze whisked me away to certain death. I looked behind me, at Karkat, who was continuing on, slightly phased by what had just happened.

I send a gust of wind his way. He let the gale take him to our friends and allies willingly. Karkat knew it was my doing. 

I allowed myself a moment, savouring the time before the bloodshed took place, limited though it was. I was afraid, too, not for my sake, but for the others. This may have been a dream, but their pain was real, once upon a time. The end was upon us, as I touched down on the battleground. We were all together, everyone. I could name every person who was more than a little startled by the ear shattering honk that split through the air. It was almost time.

Our Lord was here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well shit. Lord English. What a dick! Poopin' on peoples' parties and hatin' on the Johnkat. Oh, he be hatin'. He be hatin' lots.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, comments, and kudos!
> 
> Have a nice day!


	7. ==>John: Give an inspirational speech.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to say how sorry I am for not updating in a while. My schedule has been really hectic lately and I don't really have a lot of spare time. When I do have time off, I don't tend to make very good use of it.
> 
> Anyway, happy birthday (if it really is anyone's birthday then that's awesome and you're welcome), here's a chapter.

Everyone was there.

Aradia, Tavros, Sollux, Karkat, Nepeta, Kanaya, Terezi, Vriska, Equius, Gamzee, Eridan, and Feferi. Even our guardians: my dad, Rose's mom, Dave's bro, and Jade's Grandpa. Then there were our sprites (well, not Jade's, because duh). Then, there were Dave, Jade, and Rose.

Oh gog. Keep it together. Can't let them know what's gonna happen. Gotta be brave.

They all watched me as I touched down on the Battleground. I was officially voted to be their leader, after all. I looked at all of their faces, their eyes devoid of hope. They knew. It was my job to make them believe otherwise. I searched the crowd, looking for Karkat. He was at the very back, watching me with a sincere, terrified, worried expression. I looked to the sky, as if it carried the wisdom and courage I would need to speak to them.

I lowered my eyes to the faces before me, choosing my words. I focused on each person individually.

I can remember spending time with them all. Strifing and baking with my dad. Jamming out with Dave, then picking some random planet to bum around on. Amassing a collection of books with Rose, and watching her knit things. Jade and I fooling around with different machines we had acquired somehow. Excavating ruins with Aradia. Tavros teaching me how to play Fiduspawn. Getting some mad hacker cred with Sollux. All the movie nights and adventures I'd had with Karkat. Painting with Nepeta. Kanaya teaching me to sew. Watching Nic Cage movies and finding treasure with Vriska. Building robots with Equius. Gamzee teaching me how to juggle. Helping Eridan control his "science" powers. Tending to various fish and aquatic mammals with Feferi.

We all became pretty close, and I had managed to help some of them with a lot of their problems. I helped Rose and her mom make up, Dave to become friends with his bro, Tavros to be more confident, Karkat to feel a little better about himself, Vriska to be a little nicer, Equius to (more or less) stop ordering others around, and Gamzee to just stay high. I had also managed to make Eridan a half-decent person, and to set him and Sollux, Gamzee and Tavros, and Rose and Kanaya up together.

I knew exactly what I was going to say. I looked at them as a whole, and began my speech. "I stand here today, not as your appointed leader, not even as the leader of my own session, but as a friend, and a fellow player of this horrific game. When we started this, me especially, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. There were good times and bad times, and I'm pretty sure almost all of us have died at least once. Today, however, we are faced with a greater challenge. The greatest challenge, perhaps. This thing is bigger than us, though, and threatens to destroy everything in his path, unless He is stopped. You all know I'm talking about none other than the infamous Lord English.", the alarm in their voices made me pause.

"You've all heard the stories", I continued. "And I can assure you they are all true. He has never come to a challenge that he couldn't destroy somehow. That is, until today.

"I can guarantee that Lord English has never seen a group such as us. We are the exception. We don't just have power, or numbers. We have twenty three of the most amazing, most awesome friends, with the most powerful connection anyone could hope for. And that's another thing we have that He doesn't; hope. A monster like that will never know what it's like to believe in something, or count on people. He can never have hope. This day is supposed to be known as the end of all things. The final countdown. Our job is to make sure that this isn't the end; that it's not over. 

"Everything we've ever done leads up to this moment. All of our mistakes and fuck ups, every adventure and puzzle we've ever solved, all those weird contraptions we've deployed, or had our server player deploy, every dream on Prospit and Derse, or of the dead in dream bubbles, even the fights and arguments have provided us with the tools to wage this terrible battle. Through all the chaos, and trauma, and loss, and tears, and heartache, through all the pain and suffering, through all of our hard times, there has been one thing. One thing that has carried us through the darkness. One thing that has lifted our spirits and kept us going. That thing, my friends, is our courage.

"We all know that when this is all over, when we all come out of this battle, there will be the Reward. So you know what we're gonna do?", as expected, I was met by silence. They were hanging on my every word, fire raging in all of their eyes. "We are gonna beat his ass, then, we're gonna walk through that gogdamned doorway and claim our reward!"

My speech finished, and everyone... actually cheered. I smiled. Maybe they wouldn't all have to die this time.

Suddenly, Dave was beside me, and Rose and Jade were moving through the crowd towards me. "Your speech was sweet, Egderp. Even if it wasn't ironic. See, this is why we made you the fucking leader. I knew there was a reason. Unless you made us think that by like turning into air and then like creepin up behind us and bein all like 'ooh John's the best! You should totally vote for him! He's so dreamy'.", Dave joked, waking his arms around and making ghost noises.

"John your speech was awesome!", congratulated your ecto-sister.

"I didn't realize you were such a good inspirational speaker. I'm impressed that you got everyone so ecstatic.", Rose complimented.

"Thanks, guys! I thought I was gonna make some horribly shitty attempt at a speech and leave everyone all bummed out. It's cool that it worked, though.", I blushed.

"'Tis the power of words!", Dave exclaimed in a British accent, kneeling dramatically with a hand on his chest. Even Rose laughed at that.

"We better get into battle positions! See ya in a jiffy!", Jade bounced, leading Rose and Dave over to where the others were standing.

I stood there for a moment, when I occurred to me that I was being watched. I looked around, and there was Karkat. He was staring at me. I smiled at him, and Karkat ran over at once, embracing me. He was crying a little. 

I touched the part of his cheek that was visible, sliding my hand down to his chin as he lifted his head up to look at me. I took my hand away, in favour of holding both of Karkat's. He leaned up and stood on the tips of his toes to reach my lips, but I met his halfway so he could stand flat again. Karkat let go of my hands, both of his going to my face to hold me protectively. 

In that moment, we were scared as hell, but we were together. He was mine, I was his, and there was nothing in the existence of everything and anything that would ever change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to take this time to apologize for how fucking long this chapter is. I started writing this at like 6:00! What the heck! Anyway you know the drill. Feedback and suggestions are always appreciated. Also, I kinda copied that speech from the movie "Armaggedon" because firstly, John. Secondly, what a fucking amazing movie! Thirdly, why the hell not? My story, my rules. You don't like it, I'm sorry, feel free to complain in the comments.
> 
> I'm really tired, so if this chapter doesn't make sense, blame the fact that I am sleepily challenged.


	8. ==>Everyone: Aggress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the Battle in all its gruesome and unsettling glory. Also, the amount of words in the story now is OVER 9000!!!!!!!! That was a sucky thing for me to do, wasn't it? Anyway, have fun with this chapter!

We stood together, as one, in a line. All twenty four of us. Waiting. Just waiting.

Lord English had descended moments ago, in a sarcophagus, and everything was tense as we waited for Him to emerge. Our weapons were unsheathed, and everyone held their breath, standing and waiting for His first move.

A monstrous honk erupted from the sarcophagus as it blasted open, revealing its occupant. 

Lord English stood before us, His Cairo Overcoat sweeping around His hulking, green frame in the Breeze. I remembered this part so well. The Breeze was calling me, begging me to leave, to abscond, before it was too late. But I would never abandon my friends, even if this was a dream. Even if this was only real the first time. Even if I was going to die. I will never leave when someone needs me. So I stood my ground, slightly in front of my friends, as they had backed up when the sarcophagus shot open.

"Let's end this.", I called to them, and we surged forward, one wave of humans, trolls, and sprites.

I rode on the wind, hammer in hand. Everyone was close behind, but Karkat stayed beside me, his features fierce as we charged Him.

Lord English held His Cuestaff as we approached rapidly. It suddenly wasn't a staff, and instead became a golden assault rifle, which He held with one hand. When we were right in His midst, I gave Dave the signal, and fell back. Dave jumped up at an incredible speed and swung his sword at English. He deflected the blow with his staff, and Dave couldn't fall back fast enough. English shot, but luckily I had moved forward to hit the barrel of His gun and make Him miss by a fraction. Dave jumped back and looked at me with wide eyes, then Rose shot out a beam of light, just as Kanaya came up with her chainsaw. Their efforts left English with a small scratch on his side and black circle where there should have been a hole. 

I shot up next, swinging my hammer and aiming for His peg-leg. He batted me away with His staff, knocking me over with the sheer force. I fell on my back, my hammer out of reach. I was at His mercy. He point his rifle at me, just before Karkat darted forward, sickles slicing Lord English's hand clean off. I let the wind push us back a little, grabbing my hammer and standing. English's giant, green, clawed hand was on the ground, along with his gun, and bright red blood streamed from the stump of His wrist where His hand used to be.

Suddenly, the hand reached for the gun and attached itself back to his wrist. The blood was gone. No evidence that any damage had been done to Him remained. He looked just as He had before.

This was going to be a lot harder than we thought. 

Karkat looked at me, clearly startled. I gave him a determined look, and got a worried glance in return, our attention shifting and returning to the problem at hand.

Equius, Nepeta, and Vriska came up next. Equius gave English a swift uppercut, before giving Him two hard right hooks to the face, followed by a strong left hook in the chest. While this was happening Vriska rolled her Flourite Octet and Nepeta sliced across his legs with her claws, in an attempt to cut them off, before trying on his abdomen instead. Vriska rolled eight eights, which was an impossibly lucky roll. Her clothes changed into a black dress with cerulean outlining, red, knee high boots, and also gave her a blue sword, similar to one of her horns. She spun around, hacking at his arms and legs.

Their attacks proved to be ineffective. Lord English brandished his gun and shot Equius before he could deliver his next punch. Indigo blood seeped out of his body as he fell. Nepeta was shot mercilessly while pouncing at Him, in her attempt to avenge her moirail, and her olive blood splattered all over the ground. Vriska ran behind him, jumped in the air, and made a long gash from His bulky left shoulder, to his waist. It wasn't a deep cut, but she quickly made three more to compensate. Sadly, they were slowly starting to heal already.

Tavros and Gamzee rushed towards Lord English together, Tavros jabbing His right shoulder with a lance, and Gamzee juggling clubs at His face. Jade aimed and shot at English with her rifle, hitting Him square in the forehead. English then took a swipe at Tavros with his cane. He missed, but the action made Gamzee furious, as he started to hit Lord English particularly hard. Gamzee couldn't persist for much longer, before he was shot down. Tavros could only stare in horror as he rushed towards his fallen matesprit. He was killed before he got there.

Eridan, Sollux, and Feferi were next to go, getting the bullets just after they started to attack. 

Our guardians and sprites all aggressed at once, but were penetrated as well.

Soon, it was only the six of us: Jade, Rose, Dave, Kanaya, Karkat, and I. Rose and Kanaya quickly died after that, together. I couldn't save them. Jade was next to follow, Lord English making her rifle explode somehow. I tried to save them. It was down to Dave, Karkat, and I after that. Dave and Karkat both looked at me, wondering what we should do. I surveyed the battleground. English was almost gone, but on the other hand, the entire radius around Him was a mixture of blood colours and corpses. 

Lord English was almost dead, but so were we.

I decided we should stick the Battle out, we'd never get another chance at this, we'd never be this close. Dave turned to us, looking me in the eyes. He put his head down. He slowly walked up to Lord English.

"Dave. What -- no. Stop right there! Don't go up to Him yet, He's gonna -- wait! No!", I yelled as Dave's head was pierced by a thousand bullets.

Oh gog. I wasn't going to cry. I promised I wouldn't cry. Karkat took my hand and gave it a squeeze. I looked to him. He looked just as sad and horrified as I felt. I wanted to curl up in a ball and just sit there. I wanted him to hold me and tell me everything was ok. I wanted to just slip away. But I couldn't. I never would.

Karkat let go of my hand.

"Karkat!?"

He stepped forward.

"KARKAT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

He took a few more steps. It suddenly became extremely clear what he was doing. I started walking towards him.

"STOP!", I shrieked, sobbing.

He looked back at me, but kept going. I trudged after him.

"DON'T LEAVE ME!"

He brought up his sickles, ran the rest of the way, and dragged them down Lord English's torso. They left two deep, red gashes. He tried to hit Karkat with his staff, but he banked away. This soon sparked a duel, with hits and blocking and blows exchanged. Karkat laughed triumphantly as he left a scar on English's face. He looked back at me again, but in his distraction, English had toppled him. Karkat lay on his back, Lord English's gigantic form standing over him. He tried to back away, tried to reach for his sickles, but it was too late.

I was frozen solid, standing stock-still, as English took his Cuestaff and stabbed it through Karkat's heart.

I couldn't move. I was just standing there. I needed to help him, somehow, but I couldn't MOVE. I was then released from my prison and I collapsed to the ground in agony. My vision blurred with tears as I half-ran, half-dragged myself towards him. 

When I got there, he was still alive. Thank gog.

I reached for his wound, then pulled away. I gently picked him up, cradling him in my arms. When he spoke.

"J... J... John...", he sounded so weak. He wouldn't last long.

"Yeah? What is it, buddy?", I said giving him the biggest smile I could manage.

"Y-you... lied... to me... You said you... would... protect me... I-I th... I th-thought you... loved m-me...", Karkat was starting to bleed out.

"I do. I love you so much. I wish I could have saved you. If I could only save you, it would be worth it. Even if we were forced to wander through an empty rift in time, I would be happy as long as I had you.", I sobbed.

He smiled, just a faint smile, before looking in my eyes, reaching up a quivering hand, and touching my face. His smile faded, and suddenly the light in his eyes disappeared. 

He was gone. Just gone.

I held him as close as possible and sobbed against his corpse. He was already cold, and I was covered in his blood. I seemed to have forgotten that Lord English was behind me until I noticed his shadow looming over us. I stood and turned, Karkat's body in my arms. I looked Him straight in the eyes. My shoulders were shaking unnaturally, as well as my voice.

"Do your worst.", I proclaimed.

English didn't even hesitate before He fired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lord English is a bad dude. This made me so sad to write, but you, the reader, deserve to know what happened. I'm sorry if this chapter is kinda crappy but I stayed up until 3:00 am last night and was woken up at 8:00 am. So I'm tired. Also, this isn't the kind of stuff I'm used to writing and I haven't read/watched anything gory in a while. I had to do a bit more research than normal for this chapter, so you're welcome for that.
> 
> Finally, I am accepting suggestions in the comments if you have anything that you thought would be interesting. For example, I'm looking for suggestions for John and Karkat's first date. I already have some ideas, but if see something I really like, I'll probably use that instead.


	9. ==>Karkat: Shh, only fruit salad now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decree that there will be sleeping, kissing, fruit salad, and movies in this chapter! I don't even like fruit salad, I just wanted to put it in. 
> 
> Warning: All characters are probably characterized horribly because the author is extremely sleep deprived.
> 
> Enjoy!

I kept shaking his shoulders, harder and harder, but John wouldn't wake up!

I needed to wake him up NOW, before he starts hyperventilating and has a fucking panic attack!

John was lying on the floor when I found him, thrashing around in his blankets and mumbling shit about the Battle, probably. I tried to wake him up, I really did. Only problem is that when he has nightmares, all of a sudden he's a heavy sleeper. I was getting really worried and impatient. If John didn't wake up soon, I'm gonna slap him.

I gave him a particularly hard shake, and he jolted awake. John's eye scanned around nervously, as if waiting for a monster to jump out at him. He stopped looking around, and his teary, blue eyes came to rest on me. He looked terrified, and couldn't seem to catch his breath. I knew that look. John hadn't had just any nightmare. He had dreamt of the Battle.

I stared at him, my face wrought with worry and concern, searching for anything wrong. When I found only shock and fear, I put my hand on his shoulder.

John shivered, but I didn't let go. I embraced him. He sobbed into my chest (his tears soaking my shirt instantaneously) and I pulled him into my lap. John clung to me helplessly, like if he didn't he would be swallowed into the vast emptiness of beyond the furthest ring. I was his lifeline. I didn't push him to talk, just held him until he wanted to. It surprised me when he let go of me and brought his head upwards.

"It was so awful! It was the Battle, on LOWAS like normal. But then when it was just us, no one came to help us. Lord English... He...", John sniffled, trailing off.

"He... what?", I asked, prompting him to finish.

John shook his head, biting his lower lip.

"What happened?", I tried again, worried.

"He...", a swallow. "He killed you. Then you said stuff like I lied to you and I betrayed you, and I tried to apologize and tell you I didn't... that I was sorry... but then you were... just... gone.", John finished, erupting into another fit of hiccuping sobs.

I held him tighter and softened my voice in a desperate attempt to calm him, "Hey! It's ok! I'm fine, see? Everything's ok. It was just another nightmare. Besides, you'll never have to worry about me leaving you. I never will. Shh, it's ok. You're ok. I've got you. You're gonna be fine. I'm here. I've got you."

After a while, John had calmed down, and I held him there, too afraid to let go.

"Are you better now?"

He responded by yawning and nuzzling into my neck. He should get some more sleep.

We got up. I pulled the covers up off of the ground and made his bed, tucking and folding in the sheets nicely. I peeled the covers back for John, and he got in. I tucked him in, putting the comforter back over him. I kissed him on the forehead, and started to retreat, when John grabbed my wrist. I glanced back at him. He had a pleading look in his eyes that made me come back.

"What is it?"

"Will you stay?"

"I guess. How long do you want me to stay for?"

"Um... well, this might sound kinda... weird... but... will you sleep with me? I mean not in THAT way, just like sharing a bed, actually, literally sleeping. And nothing else. Just sleep. It's just, I'd feel safer if you-"

"Alright, fine. Move over."

John did as I requested. I folded the blanket's corner over, hopped in, then folded it back. I could feel his warmth beside me. He started to shift closer, and eventually was pressed against my side. I turned into him, putting my left arm around his neck, hand shifting into his hair, and my right around his waist, pulling him closer. John didn't object, nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck again, his arms going around my sides. We were as close as we could possibly get.

I smiled as I felt John drift off, his breathing returning to normal. I kissed the top of his head, and he made a happy, humming sound, pecking my neck in turn. The little simple, little, chaste kiss made my heart flutter, which also meant I started to purr. Shortly after that, we both fell into a deep, restful sleep.

I woke up at around 6:12 pm. 

Wow, I never knew I could fall back to sleep after I'd woken up. That doesn't normally happen. I kept my eyes closed, knowing I wouldn't be able to stay in bed much longer if I opened them. Suddenly, I felt how warm I was. Hmm, that's weird, I normally wake up cold. I opened my eyes.

This isn't my room. What am I doing in John's room? 

It took me a few seconds to remember what had happened. Then I noticed that John was still in my arms.

"Hey, you awake?", he mumbled against my neck.

"Yeah.", I responded.

John pulled away a little. He kissed me on the lips, and I smiled into the kiss. I was just about to slip him my tongue, when he pulled away from me again. I whined at the loss, making John chuckle.

Suddenly, he pinned me to the bed, his arms on either side of my head. He gave me a devilish grin (which was, admittedly, really hot). Then, he began to ravish my mouth, our tongues swirling and dancing together. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my tongue exploring his mouth. John's tongue was much shorter and less flexible than mine, but he made up for it with just the fact that he was kissing me in the first place. 

My hand caught the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer and mashing our lips together harder. His body felt amazing against mine, but I had to keep those kinds of thoughts at bay, for... embarrassing reasons. John's hands rubbed up and down my torso, brushing against my grub scars more than a couple times, making me moan involuntarily. Once he found them, he singled them out and began to rub them, tracing them. The sensation was driving me crazy. Then, however, John's hands moved upwards.

His lips moved down to my neck, making me shudder in pleasure. At the same time his hands had moved up, sifting through my unruly hair. John's hands brushed by my horns, then proceeded to stoke them softly. I jumped back at the touch, removing him from my personal space.

"Did I do something wrong?", John asked, concerned.

Oh god. I pulled away, and now because I did something stupid, I made John feel bad. What is wrong with me?!

"Nothing! Nothing. It's just that... I thought you wanted to take this slow. You know, wait before we do that kind of stuff? Unless a day is the human variation of going 'slow' with relationships. Then, I guess we can do this. The troll version of 'slow' is usually half a sweep, so about twelve perigees, though, so I was just a little confused. I'm ok though!", I rambled, hoping I didn't upset him too much.

"Wait, is THAT what touching your horns means?", he asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. What did you think it meant?"

"I don't know! Definitely not that! I think I just misled you a little, though. I didn't mean to make you think that I was ready -- I just-"

My lips were on his again. I could practically taste his embarrassment, but it slowly melted into desire. I broke the kiss first, which made John pretty fucking disappointed. I poked his nose, then proceeded to nuzzle my cheek against his.

"Now go shower. I'll make breakfast."

"Karkat, it's almost 7:30 in the evening!"

"Does it look like I give a shit?"

"No, not really."

"Good. The committee of stupid, love struck bulgelicks and nook whiffers sincerely thanks you. Now go."

I smirked, watching John as he frowned and crossed his arms in mock-anger, pouting. I placed a hand on his chin and kissed him stupid. He pulled away with a small, tired smile. John wrapped his arms around me, just in a hug. No neck nuzzling or cheek kissing or body touching. Just a simple, platonic hug. It worried me, thinking I'd scared him away. I was relieved when he kissed my nose, my cheeks, my forehead, and last, my lips. 

"Thanks for helping me sleep.", John praised.

"No problem", I said, dazed.

John went to the shower after that. I decided to be nice and make his bed again, as well as tidy up a few loose items. As I left his room, I went down the hallway instead of turning to go to the kitchen. I put my ear against the bathroom door, listening to John. He was singing.

John's singing voice was hauntingly beautiful, and anyone who said different should be dragged into the street and run down with a four-wheel-device. He was singing some human love song, and I listened closely. It sounded lovely. Wait, did he just sing what I think he did? No. Fucking. Way. He did not just put my name in the song! Yes! Hell yes! Hell fucking yes! He's singing about me! I fought the urge to scream like one of those teenage girls you see on T.V. or at concerts. Yesssss.

I silently cheered him on for a few more seconds as he belted out lyrics. I had to steal myself away from the door and get to "work". 

I walked into the kitchen and got out the cutting board, a mixing bowl, and a knife. Then I went to the hunger trunk and looked for some fruit. There wasn't a lot of meat in there, probably because John is a vegetarian and will pretty much vomit if he sees raw meat. I keep the most of the meat in the freezer, and anything else is in a drawer in the hunger trunk. I pulled out all the necessary ingredients: some blueberries, some strawberries, three bananas, some blackberries, some raspberries, a pear, some green grapes, and two apples.

When I make fruit salad, I don't fuck around. I go all out.

I put the berries (not the strawberries) into the bowl, along with the grapes. I started to cut up the bananas next, and I was halfway through the second one when John walked in, his hair still damp from the shower.

"Hi.", I said.

"Hey.", John replied, coming up behind me and putting his arms around my middle. He rested his chin on my shoulder.

Um... ok. I really wasn't expecting that. I resumed my cutting, trying to hurry so I could be done sooner. Then I realized I still had to cut another banana, probably twenty strawberries, a pear, and two apples. Ugh, I was never going to finish this, was I? As if to add to my wanting to finish preparing this salad, John began to kiss my neck. 

His soft lips moved slowly around my neck, not biting, just kissing. I gasped when he licked along my collarbone. My hands were trembling slightly. If I lose a finger because John is an impatient, smug, unhelpful fuckass, I might just punch him in the face. But OH MY GOD. His lips were like magic, and I struggled to keep my breathing steady as he continued his ministrations. I finished cutting the third banana, shakily putting it in the bowl. Finally!

I quickly turned around in John's arms and attacked his lips. After what was probably five minutes, I broke the kiss.

"John, you need to calm your libido the fuck down. Seriously, what in the ever loving fuck is with you today? I'm pretty sure I almost cut off my fucking finger, but I wouldn't know, because SOME ASSHOLE was distracting me. Either you go sit your eye-staring, spaghetti-eating, bulge-teasing, nightmare-having, grubscar-rubbing, horn-molesting, shower-singing, neck-kissing ass down or help me make this gogdamn fucking masterpiece. Your choice. It doesn't matter to me, either way.", I ranted.

"I'll help! I'll help! Sheesh!", John gave in.

I gave him a satisfied (smug) grin. I picked up an apple, handing him the strawberries and giving him a quick peck on the cheek before he could say anything. He blushed. I sliced the apple into manageable chunks, while John cut the tops off the strawberries and got rid of the bad ones. I finished the second apple off and John had finished the strawberries. I gave him the pear.

I got out two cups and filled them with orange juice. Then I found two spoons. John had finished with the pear and was bringing the bowl over to the couch. I chose a human rom-com, and John complained a little, but eventually let me win. I put the movie in and went back to the couch to sit beside John. By the end, tears had been shed, fruit salad had been eaten, I had wiggled my way into John's lap, and we were covered in blankets. 

By the second half of the next movie, we were engaging in what is known as sloppy makeouts, disregarding the movie completely. Even when it was over, we stayed there, kissing. 

I pulled away a little bit (less than an inch) and whispered against his lips. "Will you go out with me?"

"Of course!", he exclaimed between smooches. "When?"

"Um... Tomorrow? Is that ok?", I asked.

"Hell yes! Let's do it!"

We made out for another hour or so, then we cuddled and watched three more movies. We eventually got really tired, but John thought he might have another nightmare again tonight. He asked if I'd sleep with him again, and I agreed. We decided on my room, and we both curled up together, just like this morning.

As John snuggled closer in his sleep, I marvelled at his beautiful features. It doesn't hurt so much to fantasize now, because I can actually do some of that stuff. That and he's mine. I am not letting him go. Ever. 

I admired his pale, almost pearlescent white skin, his coal black hair, his lithe-yet-muscular body, his full lips, and the dorky smile that would be on his face right now if he were awake. When I fell asleep, I dreamed of John.

Tomorrow was going to be awesome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dat fruit salad tho. 
> 
> Sorry that this chapter is incredibly long and probably not that great. I tried! I really did! I'm pretty sure the characterization is off, so sorry about that too.
> 
> If you see any mistakes, problems with the characters, questions, suggestions, ect. please fell free to put it in a comment!


	10. ==>Karkat: Date One -- Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this is part 1 of their first date.
> 
> Woot woot!

John woke me with a gentle kiss to the lips.

I smiled automatically and reciprocated, my eyes staying closed. When he broke the kiss, I saw that he was already dressed.

"Good morning, Karkitten!", John snickered.

I glared at him, promptly flipping him off.

"Now, now, Major Nubs Mcshouty, we mustn't use such profane hand gestures.", he could nearly contain himself.

"I apologize, Admiral Fuckass. I'll try to be more considerate next time I flip you the bird.", I deadpanned. 

John scoffed. I grabbed his face and kissed him. He melted into it in an instant.

"I'm sorry, shoutkat, but we don't have time to have sloppy makeouts right now. YOU still have to get ready!", he grinned.

"Shit, what time is it!?", I asked, panicked.

"SUMMER TIME!!!!!!!!", John yelled immediately. I walked right into that one.

I picked my phone up off of the bedside table to check the time. Fuck! It was 10:25 am! Without saying another word, I scrambled out of bed, past a sniggering John, down the hall, and into the bathroom. I stripped and turned on the shower, setting the temperature to something utterly scalding. I stepped into the boiling stream.

I ran through the outlines of the day. John and I had planned something very unique. Basically, we were going to take turns taking each other to different places today. It's supposed to be like a bunch of dates in one, since we don't really have a lot of free time. He wanted to go first, though he never actually told me where he was taking me.

I had no time to enjoy my shower. I had to make sure I got rid of my terrible natural smell for John. Maybe if I smelled better, he wouldn't reject me like last time. And the time before that. I'm never going to end up with John, am I?

I scrubbed everywhere, rinsed, and turned the water off, hopping out of the shower. I grabbed a fluffy black towel and dried myself off as best as I could. I wrapped it around my waist, making my way back to my bedroom.

When I got there, I found that John had left.

I closed the door, locking it. I went over to my bedside table, finding John's watch in the place of my phone. It read 11:11:11 am. I ran over to my closet, rummaging around until I came across some actually presentable clothes. I kinda forgot what John was wearing, so I picked something comfortable, that still looked nice enough. 

I wanted to look good, but not overdressed. I settled on a deep, red T-shirt, a pair of slightly baggy, black jeans, and a black cardigan. Casual, but not lazy.

Fuck. I was thinking about this way too much. Why did I have to worry so much? John probably doesn't worry this much. He probably didn't make such a huge fuss over what he was gonna wear. Knowing John, he probably just threw on the first thing he found in his closet. He didn't normally care that much about what he wore, so why would today be any different?

All of those thoughts incinerated themselves in my mind, and proceeded to spill and fizzle out of my ears when I saw what John was really wearing today.

He looked utterly gorgeous. I couldn't possibly compete with that! John was dressed in a dark blue button-up shirt and grey skinny jeans. I definitely appreciated the way the jeans fit tight against him. John also had on a dark blazer that hugged his torso in all the right areas. I always liked that jacket on him. He was already wearing his sneakers.

When I entered the kitchen, John beamed at me, and I walked over. I slipped on my black boots, which were always surprisingly light, considering they had steel toes. John opened the door for me, and we walked to the stairwell, running down to the lobby from the fourth floor. There was really no point of taking the elevator down when the stairs were faster.

We got outside of the apartment building and were enveloped in the crisp fall air, the wind blowing softly, thanks to John. Whenever he went outside, the wind seemed to blow, as if literally welcoming and greeting him.

As we pressed on, the wind slowed. I didn't know where John was taking us, but I trusted him. He took my hand and knitted our fingers together, and the breeze picked up again. John made a soft, gliding motion with his hand, and the gale eased.

He stopped walking, and turned to me, smiling timidly. "It's ok, the wind's just getting used to you. That's all. Normally, it wouldn't bother you, but I guess it's just being nosy about our personal lives.", he explained.

I had never really understood John's relationship with the wind. He always spoke like it was alive. Like it was a real person. In truth, it was sort of like his lusus. His real lusus (his "parent", as humans called them) had been killed shortly after he obtained his powers, and after he realized this, he was killed as well. When he was revived, he and the wind had more of a sentimental relationship. They were closer than ever, now.

In a way, the wind surrounding us like this is kind of like meeting John's lusus. To be honest, it made me a little nervous. What if, upon further inspection, the wind didn't like me? Would it try to separate us? Would it push me somewhere else and keep me in a windy prison, far away from John, where I'd never see him again? John wouldn't let that happen. Would he?

He had had the wind before he liked me, what if he had to choose between us? Who would he choose? Mostly likely, the wind.

Suddenly, my new purpose for this date (and possibly for the rest of my sad, pathetic life) was to make sure that, if John has to choose, he chooses me.

We walked for a while, turning this way and that, until John slowed the pace a bit. The whole time, he had never let go of my hand. I looked at my surroundings. There were very few places in town that I didn't know, and thankfully, we weren't in one of them.

I immediately recognized this part of town. There were a furniture store, a humble little flower shop, and-

Oh.

My.

God.

John was leading me through the door of the fanciest restaurant in town. It was always reserved. The only people who got to even make reservations had to receive an invitation. I had always wanted to go here. The thing that was different about this restaurant was that it only took one group at a time.

Though I would never admit this to anyone, I had always fantasized about John taking me here.

We were led into a secluded dining room by a bubbly human hostess with extremely long, blonde hair. As I was seated, I marvelled at the exquisite decorum of the room.

The first thing that I noticed was that the whole room was illumated only by candlelight. The walls were dark maroon in colour, almost matching the rose petals that were littered everywhere. The room itself smelled warm and sweet, exceptionally fragrant, and a bit like the red wine currently on the table. Our table was in the centre of the room, draped in a white tablecloth, and also covered with more rose petals, fine cutlery and china, and two wine glasses.

The centrepiece consisted of a vase containing a lovely and complicated flower arrangement of red roses, dark blue hibiscus, white chrysanthemums, purple dahlias with white tips, and both blue and white tiger lilies, all of which surrounded by Queen Anne's lace. I loved all of those flowers. Those were all literally my favourite flowers. They looked stunning together.

In the corner farthest from the door, a string quartet was playing a sweet melody. I didn't recognize it, but it sounded heavenly.

I looked at John, astonished. I was completely speechless. He had pulled out all of the stops.

"What do you think? Do you like it?", he blushed.

"I-I can't believe you... this is... it's just so...", John waited anxiously for my response, worrying his lip. "... It's perfect," I gasped, awestruck. John sighed, relieved, and reached across the table to take my hand.

"I'm so glad you like it!", he beamed.

We continued to talk and laugh, and then food arrived.

"We didn't even order yet," I mused, dumbfounded.

"Karkat, it's not like I don't know what you like. We've known each other for ten years, you can get to know someone pretty well in that time. Just trust me, you won't be disappointed," he smirked.

When the posh-looking waiter set the dish down in front of me, I was both surprised, and not. The reason I wasn't surprised was because most ornate restaurants have steak on their menu. What surprised me was the fact that John actually knew that steak was my favourite. After all, I hardly ever get the chance to eat it.

The waiter set down a very colourful and extravagant-looking eggplant parmesan in front of John. I cut into my steak. The moment it touched my tongue it was like an explosion of flavour. I tried not to let my enthusiasm show too much, instead admiring the elaborate golden designs that dipped and swirled along all four of the room's walls.

"How is it?", John inquired.

"It's fabulous!", I enthused. Way to go, Major Bulgelick. Real smooth.

John simply smiled at me and began to eat, and I continued. As I ate, I started to pay more attention to the song that the quartet was playing. It sounded unlike any song I could think of. John would know. He'd already organized everything else, I think it's safe to assume that he had a say into the music choice.

Once we were done, John raised his glass. "A toast!"

"To what?"

"To us!"

I sighed, rolling my eyes, but smiled a little and lightly knocked my glass against his anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many references!


	11. ==>Karkat: Date one -- Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Finally continuing with the date!
> 
> Warning: there's gonna be kissing...

After dinner, I swept John into the streets.

As we walked to our destination, I was practically pulling him along. When we arrived, John's face lit up.

"Oh hell yes! I don't think my dinner date can compete with this! I want a redo!", he exclaimed.

I just blushed and walked after him as he galavanted inside the movie theatre. The movie itself was actually really good. It was an action movie, but there was also a bit of romance, which I appreciated. John held my hand for the entire movie, and kissed me twice. 

After about two hours, we were back on the street, and it was John's turn.

"That movie was awesome! I'm pretty sure my turn just won't cut it after that," John gleamed, whisking me away down the street.

We made a few twists and turns, and then we were on a different street.

I also knew this part of town, but I didn't come here often because the only reason that I needed to was to walk John home from work. He worked part-time at the local aquarium. The owner was a violet-blooded seadweller who takes good care of the fish and ensures they have a lot of room. I've never actually met John's boss, but apparently they were on good terms.

John stopped in front of the aquarium, which was weird because it was closed on Sunday. I made sure to tell him this, and he simply laughed a little.

"That's the point, Karkles! My boss said that I could use the aquarium for our date, when no one was around. I figured it would be cool, since you've never been to one before," John giggled, taking my hand. "This is gonna be sweet!"

He lead me over the threshold of the aquarium, and my nose was assaulted with the sharp scent of saltwater. The whole inside of the building was painted black, and there were brightly-lit tanks filled with water and colourful fish. The room itself was lit with a dark blue light. 

Once again, I was completely awestruck. We walked up to a tank that held thousands of silvery fish. The fish swam about in a disorganized fashion. They didn't seem to have a leader of any kind.

"Watch this," John said, putting a finger to the glass.

As soon as his finger was on the tank, the fish separated, almost simulating an explosion. They then swam close together, and- wait, what?

The fish were melting into each other, morphing into something huge. After a moment, they were done. The fish had transformed into a green crystal, loosely in the form of a person. It took me a moment to realize that the fish were miming John almost perfectly, and I gasped in amazement.

"Pretty cool, eh?", John chuckled.

"Yeah," I said absently. "What are they called?"

"'Kryptonite mirrors'", he answered.

As John led me through the aquarium, my excitement flourished. I could barely contain myself, and eventually gave in to the elation. I couldn't help it! I asked what every new fish was called and stared at the tanks with enthusiasm I haven't shown in years! Every time, John just chuckled and told me.

Soon, we arrived at the mouth of a glass tunnel that supposedly traveled right through a giant fish tank. This new development was terrifying.

"Karkat, it's ok! It's not like the glass will break. It's bulletproof. I'll be with you every step of the way. I promise. I'll stick by your side, no matter what," John took my hand and laced our fingers together.

His words did little to pacify me, nor did they quell the fear I felt as we stepped inside the tunnel. John realized this immediately and stood in front of me, taking my face in his free hand. I leaned into the touch, holding his hand there and nuzzling it affectionately. After a moment, I released it, and he put his arm lightly around my shoulder.

I definitely wasn't nervous after that.

We were nearing the end of the tunnel, when John stopped and turned to me. He took my hands in his and leaned closer to me. I pressed myself against him, my arms going around his neck, inhaling his intoxicating aroma. His hands went to my waist.

John took my chin between his fingers and pressed a light kiss against my lips. I pulled him closer, relishing in his taste. Then, just like that, he was gone.

Nope. He was not getting away that easy.

In one, swift motion, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back towards me, kissing him. Hard. John's rigid posture and slack lips told me that he was definitely not expecting this to happen, but he quickly reciprocated the kiss and melted into it.

Our tongues danced together, and John's hands flew to my hair, twining with my Stygian locks. I pressed our lips together harder, and felt him leaning on me. I looked at John.

His eyes had fallen shut, his hands were clammy and trembling, and his knees were shaking, as if they may just buckle under him. John's breathing had also become erratic, and I could hear his heartbeat, rapid and frantic. I finally took pity on John and let him catch his breath, and he leaned against the glass as he did so.

After a few minutes, he spoke.

"Holy shit," John gasped, completely breathless.

I smirked at him, satisfied with my work.

Soon enough, those precious, heavenly lips were back on mine. John took this as his chance to make me melt, and in less than a minute, we were both panting and gasping for air. 

John got up first, offering his hand to me. I gladly took it and intertwined our fingers, kissing the backs of his.

As we left the tunnel, my eyes were glued to his, admiring the sapphire orbs and the light that was always in them. 

I smiled at John, just a small smile, but the first real one I'd shown in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you there was gonna be kissing, bro! I told you dog!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who reads this story, gives me a kudos, or comments! It makes me immensely happy whenever I read a comment of get another kudos!
> 
> Also, just wanna give a shout-out to my moirail, mutant_and_proud. Go check her out (and not in that way you sick mOtHeRfUcKeR)! I'm betaing for her now, and she should be posting some stuff soon (she's an X-men fan, and has made up some pretty awesome characters), so look her up!


	12. ==>John: Date One -- Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BUCKETS. BUCKETS. BUCKETS. BUCKETS. BUCKETS. BUCKETS. BUCKETS. BUCKETS.

Where the heck is he taking me?

Karkat was running down the sidewalk, dodging and avoiding people, and dragging me along behind him as he went.

He was giggling, which he never, EVER, under any circumstances did. Normally, he barely even smiled. He must be really excited!

Right about now, I would've been having a blast. The only problem was the wind. It's not like it was stopping me, just that it was being kinda... overbearing. It was warning me, telling me to be cautious. Why? Karkat wasn't going to hurt me! Just the thought of it was almost enough to make me laugh! He wouldn't dream of doing something like that! The wind has absolutely nothing to worry about.

Now that my secret's out, I can finally trust Karkat completely.

I had been thinking a lot lately. Mostly about Karkat and I... being together... like... boyfriends. I'm not entirely sure when I decided that I wanted him to be my matesprit, to be honest. Maybe it was when I first learned about troll romance, or maybe it was a few minutes ago, in the aquarium. 

Either way, I'm going to make him mine today.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I almost bumped right into him. Karkat had all but jolted to a stop, and it took me a moment to wonder how we had gotten here so fast without me noticing. Sometimes my thoughts can really get away from me.

Karkat and I were standing at the huge iron gates of Central Park, so called because it was literally in the exact middle of the city. It also looked way too much like an eye for it to be a coincidence. Not many people came here on Sundays, so we might just have the whole park to ourselves.

We walked through the colossal black gates, into a little courtyard.

Karkat turned to face me, and I studied his face. His grey skin was flawless, completely perfect, and his angular features suited him well. His button nose gave him an undeniable cuteness, as did the wide, unabashed smile he was sporting. Karkat's hair was darker than the veil and his eyes more red than a cardinal's feathers. He was blushing profusely (though he would blame the cold), which made him even more adorable.

The wind swept around us, rustling both the remaining leaves on the trees, and the ones littering every inch of grass in the park. Karkat tugged me along the gravel path, and I kept up with him, letting him pull me just a little. 

Trees lined the path on either side, branches still half-full with leaves, and he tugged harder on our twined fingers. The wind rustled the leaves in the trees, and flooded us with the ones on the ground, though our pace didn't slow. The sun was low on the horizon as we approached a pond with a rustic-looking bridge spanning over it.

Karkat giggled again and started to run a little faster.

We ran up the bridge and stopped right in the middle of it. While we were preoccupied, the stars had come to pay us a visit. I looked out over the rail of the bridge, the water reflecting the full moon and the constellations as if the sky were the mirror, and the real stars floated on the surface. It reminded me of an old song I'd heard once, as it was absolutely lovely.

The wind enveloped us in warmth, almost like it was trying to wrap us in a protective shield. In a way, it was, shielding us from harm, and keeping us safe. It was giving me it's blessing, it's permission to ask the question I'd been dying to ask Karkat for a long time.

My hands were held in his, as he stood in front of me, gazing into each others' eyes. Karkat's eyes glowed faintly, his smile wide, both illuminating the darkness. I looked down, then looked back up to him. His eyes really did shine bright, the yellow sclera mixed with the crimson irises creating a bold contrast. This was the only chance I was going to get. I might as well take the leap.

"Karkat," I started quietly, looking away. "Will you- will you be my boyfriend?"

Karkat stood stock-still for a moment. His eyes were wide, and his cheeks were bright red. He didn't even seem to be breathing. I wasn't sure what he was feeling, but if I had to guess, I'd say it was a mixture of joy, terror, longing, and uncertainty. I could see red tears beading in the corners of his eyes. 

Then, all at once, Karkat leaped at me and smashed our lips together.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!", he sobbed in between kisses.

I broke the kiss to wipe away Karkat's scarlet tears, then continued, kissing him softly. Our lips fit together perfectly, almost as if they were made for each other, our love written in the stars. We spent a long time like this, with light kisses and chaste touches, before the kiss turned more heated. I was gripping the rail of the bridge tightly behind me as Karkat kissed me. His hands were on the rail too, behind my back, caging me. He looked captivating in the moonlight.

"You're so beautiful," I whispered against his lips.

He was somewhat taken aback by this, so I just started to kiss him again. My stomach was fluttering and my knees were shaking so bad and my heart was burning and I was kind of hyperventilating but I didn't care. How could I when the one person I loved, the one person who was with me since the beginning, the one person who was there for me in my worst moments, loved me back, and was currently kissing me like he would die without me.

I couldn't see straight, let alone tell up from down. The sense of vertigo was worth it to feel his lips and his tongue moving along with mine. My eyes fell shut as Karkat's alienly-long tongue explored my mouth, scouring every inch, then tangled with mine again. His taste was addictive, divine, as if engineered and perfected by the gods themselves. His scent was masked a little by the smell of soap (not much), but still irresistible. 

I couldn't get enough of him, and oh, I wanted more. I just didn't want too much too soon. I wanted to savour him, his smell, his taste, his touch. I loved everything about Karkat and wanted to take the time to appreciate every bit of him. I wanted to give him the respect and adoration that he deserves, whether he wants it or not.

My arms flew around his neck and my hands into his hair, pulling him as close as he could get. Karkat's hair was softer than cotton and more luxurious than silk, perfect for carding my fingers through. He started to purr louder than before, and the sound made my heart skip a beat.

Karkat pressed me harder against the railing, in turn pressing his body closer into mine, and I ran a finger lightly over the base of one of his horns, experimentally. He shivered, and began to kiss me hard enough to bruise my lips, his tongue moving with renewed purpose. 

I had a feeling that my legs were going to give out soon, making me collapse, with how bad they were trembling. Karkat seemed to realize this, too, because he broke the kiss, holding me against him and allowing me to brace myself. I tucked my head under his chin, wrapping my arms around him lightly and pecking his neck once. He held me tight, kissing my forehead as I caught my breath.

"I love you so fucking much," Karkat whispered into my hair.

I smiled into his neck, saying, "I love you more."

"I fucking doubt it!", he smirked, pulling back to look at me. His eyes were filled with love.

"Hey Karkat? It's my turn, now," I grinned after a moment of us making googley-eyes at each other.

"John, what in the Noble Circle of Horrorterrors could you possibly have planned? It goes without saying that everything is closed," Karkat said, raising an eyebrow.

"Where we're going, it's always open," and with that, I shot out of his arms, over the railing, and hovered out above the water. "I'm going to take you flying!"

Karkat looked at me in utter horror, his eyes wide and his jaw slack. I flew a little closer to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then backed out over the water before he could catch me and fall in. He jumped up, put his legs over the railing and sat on it, watching me carefully. I reached my hand out to him, and he looked at it, unsure and apprehensive.

"Karkat, it's ok, you can trust me. You'll be fine. I won't let you fall. I promise," he still looked hesitant. "If I drop you, your ghost can haunt me for the rest of my life."

"It's not YOU dropping me that I'm worried about. I don't think the wind likes me very much," Karkat confessed.

"It was just getting used to you earlier. It trusts you now. It knows you won't hurt me, so it's cool with you. I swear, if the wind didn't like you, didn't trust you, even the smallest bit, I wouldn't have suggested this. It gave me permission, so I can guarantee your safety!", I assured him.

He looked a little scared. I flew closer to the bridge, reaching out to him. Karkat clutched my hand with both of his, closing his eyes and nodding, and I picked him up with the wind. We floated out over the pond again, our shoes almost skimming the surface.

"Open your eyes," I breathed into his ear.

He did as I asked and he immediately looked down. Karkat hissed at the water beneath us and pounced at me, legs wrapping around my torso and his arms scrabbling at my shoulders in terror. He was petrified, trying to get higher up and away from the water. It would be hilarious if I dropped him in, but I'm pretty sure he would be really pissed.

"John, I changed my mind. Please put me the fuck down somewhere safe, somewhere dry, where we AREN'T floating ten feet off the ground," Karkat whimpered, clinging to me helplessly and tugging at my jacket.

"It'll be ok," I comforted. "Trust me, you'll love it!"

"Somehow, I'm finding that VERY hard to believe at the moment! Can you put me down now!?", he panicked, his lip trembling a bit and his eyes watering, shut tight again in fear.

I pushed us over towards land and floated down, just over top of the grass. I pressed a soft kiss to his temple, stroking the back of his neck and murmuring soft words of encouragement and praise into his hair.

"Karkat, we're an inch off the ground. You can let go, now," I sighed, holding back a laugh.

"Nope," he mumbled against my shoulder, burying his face deeper into the crook of my neck and wrapping his arms and legs around me tighter.

I peeled him off my body and took his face in my hands, holding his gaze. Karkat looked into my eyes, desperate and terrified. He really did not want to do this. He was definitely going to love it, though. I kissed his lips softly, and he sighed, the tension leaving his body instantly. 

Before he new it, we were fifteen feet above the ground, the wind encouraging us to go forward.

I broke the kiss, leaving Karkat calm and at peace in my arms. I gestured for him to look down. His eyes went so wide that I was afraid they were going to fall out of their sockets! He hung onto me for dear life again, screaming profanity at me and calling me every name in the book (including his own colourful curse-words) as we zoomed over top of the park. We soared through town, ascending over buildings and ducking under bridges.

After a while, Karkat stopped screaming, and started to enjoy himself. It was funny to watch. With every dip and swirl, he started relax, to have fun, and soon he was laughing and whooping at every twist and turn. It was kind of cute, seeing his mood change from extremely mortified to ecstatic within a few mere seconds. We were getting close to the apartment -- I could see it from here -- when I rocketed sky-ward.

Soon, we blasted through the layer of clouds, and were floating above them together, his hands in mine. I pretended to scoop up a handful of a cloud nearby, and throw it at him, and he pretended that he was just shot with a bullet, falling backwards in the air. We both laughed hysterically as I pulled him back. Then he kissed me, while we were floating about the cloud layer. It was the perfect moment.

Then, Karkat spoke up.

"John, this whole date has been amazing! Astounding! I would've never thought -- not in a million years -- that this would ever happen! It's better than I imagined, like a dream come true!", he professed.

I just blushed and said, "Would you like to see the city?"

Karkat nodded with gusto, and we glided under the clouds. The city was breathtaking, a flourish of bright lights and alight with noise. Karkat gasped at the sight. 

For me, the city was nothing compared to the bewitching troll to my right.

I lowered us, until we touched down on the fire escape outside of our window. It opened with little-to-no effort, and we slipped inside the red, brick building, the familiar sight of our living room greeting us. Once there, Karkat punched me hard in the arm.

"Ow! Gog, what was that for?", I groaned, a little concerned for Karkat's mental health. Seriously, what the heck did I do wrong?

"THAT was for taking me flying!", he then proceeded to grab me by my shoulders and kiss me until I was weak in the knees... for the sixth time tonight. "...And that was for taking me flying."

I sputtered, telling him that that made no sense, that he was being completely irrational. He just put a finger to my lips, and then replaced it with his own. Unsuprizingly, I had no problem with this at all.

"My turn," he smiled.

I looked at him expectantly, confused. What did he mean?

Luckily, he elaborated on this. "The flight home technically did count as a date, and we were supposed to have the same number of dates, so...", Karkat trailed off.

"What did you have in mind, exactly?", I asked, genuinely curious now.

"Dancing!", he beamed artfully. I just looked at him. "C'mon, it'll be fun!"

With that, Karkat put his phone on the table, looking through the masses of songs he had accumulated. He chose one, but was waiting to play it.

"Karkat... uh... I don't really... um... I kinda don't really know how to dance at all," I confessed.

"Well I do, fuckass, so you get your damn sweet ass up and over here," he smirked.

He reached out his hand, much like I had done earlier, and I took it timidly. He pulled me into his chest, touching the button on the screen and turning up the music. I blushed as the first few seconds of the song played, and Karkat put a hand on my hip, taking one of mine in the other.

"Put your arm on my shoulder," he murmured.

I did as I was told, and when the words started, Karkat led us into a swaying, spinning motion. It wasn't too fancy, but it was nice and slow, almost tranquil. Eventually, he let go of my hand, and I brought it up to join his other shoulder, while his other hand went to my hip. I sighed, content, and rested my head on his shoulder as we danced. Then, the music stopped very abruptly, and I felt Karkat's hand leave my hip after that. I opened my eyes, not actually realizing they had been closed in the first place, and looked at him. 

Apparently, his phone had died, and he let loose a curse or two as he managed to find this out.

I quickly remedied the situation, whipping out my own phone and quickly replacing it with Karkat's, skimming through my music to find a good song. When I found one, something that I was happy with, we resumed our original position. We continued the slow-dancing, even though the song wasn't really meant for it. We didn't care. 

When the chorus came up, I half-whispered, half-sang it into Karkat's ear, "...When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, cause you're amazing, just the way you are..."

He blushed bright red and looked away at that, his long eyelashes fluttering in embarrassment, and mumbled something about me being "a huge dork". I, of course, knew him too well, and therefore knew that he liked it.

The next song was much slower, and it fit better with the way we were dancing. I didn't sing to Karkat this time, but he looked at me and smiled shyly when he realized why I'd chosen this song. By the end, our lips were locked together and our hearts were both racing. 

I reached over, trying to turn off my phone at the same time, while this was all happening, and Karkat smiled into the kiss before breaking it.

We danced to a few more songs, until we both gave up on dancing and started kissing again instead. I wasn't complaining. They were slow, almost lazy kisses, but they were still great. At some point, the kisses got faster and more rough, and I ended up being pushed up against a wall by Karkat. I didn't really mind, except maybe for the fact that this was all a little sudden. On the plus side, I was making out with Karkat Vantas, who is now my boyfriend, and also currently straddling me against a wall.

He trailed kisses down my neck, leaving a mark or two in his wake, and the sensation was driving me crazy. I needed him in my lips again, so I wrenched his head back up and started to kiss him ravenously. My fingers sifted through his hair, and his hands were on my chest, holding me there and pushing me back.

Soon enough, neither of us could breathe right, and we sunk down until we were sitting on the floor, holding hands as we tried desperately to find our breath. I gazed at him sideways. His face was flushed and he was panting for air. Needless to say, he looked pretty damn attractive. When we finally had enough oxygen, Karkat looked over at me, and laughed loudly.

"What's so funny?", I giggled. His sweet laughter was contagious.

He kissed me on the lips, then grinned and looked at me, a gleam in his gorgeous eyes. "John, this is going to be one hell of a matespritship. I daresay, the best in the history of everything, ever," he huffed, kissing the backs of my fingers that were knitted through his.

And sure enough, it definitely was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to give a huge thank you, first. Thanks so much to everyone for all of your support, even if you didn't read this story. Just the hits mean so very much to me, you have no idea. This really has been a journey. An adventure of sorts! Alas, this is the end of this story, for now. I could definitely continue this, it would be so easy to pick up from where I left off, but I could also stop it here and it would still be a satisfactory ending. I don't know. Tell me what you guys think I should do.
> 
> (P.S. The songs that John and Karkat danced to are these, in the order they appeared: "1000 Years" by Christina Perri, "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars, "Drops of Jupiter" by Train, "Fix You" and "X and Y" both by Coldplay.)
> 
> Until we meet again, mes pamplemousses!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, commenting, and kudos! I hope everybody likes this story. 
> 
> Firstly, if it seems like I copied you, please don't sue me! My thoughts get all screwed up sometimes after I read things and then I mix that up with what I was going to write. I also might have used a phrase that you used/read in another story because I liked how it sounded. Sorry if you're upset about that! If not, that's great! 
> 
> Secondly, don't forget to call me out on any mistakes I made or, if you want to give me some constructive criticism, that's fine too.
> 
> Furthermore, I want to give a shout-out to my friend, Brookqueline. Hope this helps feed your Johnkat addiction! (If you're into X-men, go check out my moirail, mutant_and_proud! Her current project is awesome!)
> 
> Once again, thanks. I'll try to update as often as I can!


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